In a statement issued last week, Business Roundtable (BRT) expressed extreme disappointment with the Department of State’s decision that will keep 20,000 construction workers on the sidelines by delaying approval of the Keystone XL pipeline until 2013. BRT President John Engler said:

• “The State Department claims to need even more time for review, but this project has undergone years of exhaustive analysis. One thing we already know for sure: This delay is delaying jobs.”
• “Keystone XL would create 20,000 much-needed, high-wage construction and other jobs almost immediately, addressing what should be a national priority – lowering the unacceptably high level of unemployment.”
• “The decision to approve this $7 billion pipeline project should have been an easy one for the Administration to make. Unfortunately, it has become yet another example of how difficult, if not impossible, it is to gain approval to expand any business in the U.S.”  
• “If there ever was a case study that demonstrates the need to fundamentally reform our regulatory and permitting processes in the U.S., this is it.”
• “President Obama this year told Executive Branch agencies to give more serious consideration to what kind of impact their regulatory and permitting activities would have on jobs, business and growth. The State Department seems not to have gotten the message.”

Click here to learn more about Business Roundtable’s position on the Keystone XL Pipeline.